How to Keep Weeds & Grass Out of Vegetable Gardens

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How to Keep Weeds & Grass Out of Vegetable Gardens

Overview

Home vegetable gardens are great, because you always have fresh produce available without having to take a trip to the grocery store. Growing your own vegetables does have a lot of benefits, but it is also hard work. You must give your vegetables the key ingredients they need to grow. Then, you must remove any weeds or grass that begin to grow in the garden. Some weeds and harmful grass that you might want to remove include chickweed, crabgrass and dandelions. If you don't, the weeds and grass will sap the nutrients from the soil that belong to the vegetables.

Step 1

Put on a pair of garden gloves and pull out the weeds and grass that you see growing in your vegetable garden. This method works particularly well if your vegetable garden isn't too big. You can throw your pulled weeds and grass in the woods, or bag them up and throw them out with the trash.

Step 2

Use a hoe to uproot any grass or weeds that you see. Go 1/2 inch to 1 inch deep into the soil to make sure the weeds don't come back. This is a better method to use than the first if your vegetable garden is on the larger side. The roots are then exposed to the sun, which causes them to wither up and die.

Step 3

Cover areas that are prone to growing weeds and grass with a newspaper. Make sure you use four sheets of newspaper for each section you are trying to control. This keeps the sun's rays from reaching the soil. The grass and weed seeds will not get the light that they need to grow. You don't need to remove the newspapers unless you want to. They will decompose into the ground.

Step 4

Spread mulch 3 to 4 inches thick around your vegetable garden to keep weeds and grass from growing. This works much the same way that the newspapers do. You can leave the mulch year round. Replace after two to three years have passed.

Step 5

Spray any patches of grass or weeds that you see with a 50 percent bleach and 50 percent water solution. Three squirts near the base of the grass and weeds is enough to kill them. Bleach will kill any type of plant. Be careful that you do not get it on any of your vegetables. If you do, wash the vegetable off right away.

Tips and Warnings

Herbicides will kill your unwanted grass and weeds, but they contain harsh chemicals that you probably don't want to use around your family.

Things You'll Need

Garden gloves

Hoe

Newspapers

Mulch

Bleach

Water

Spray bottle

References

Mississippi State University: Weed Control

This Garden is Illegal: The 7 Deadly Homemade Weed Killers

Keywords:
weed killer, vegetable garden, grass killer

About this Author

Alicia Bodine has been a professional writer for six years. She has produced thousands of articles for online publications such as Demand Studios, Bright Hub, Associated Content and WiseGeek. Bodine is also the current cooking guru for LifeTips. She has received awards for being a top content producer.